Three Hundred Games & Pastimes - complete online book

A Book Of Suggestions For Children's Games And Employments.

before it is given to him, and he must have the yoke of a hard-boiled egg, meal-worms, ants' eggs, and any insects you can catch for him. He must also have plenty of opportunities for bathing, and as much fresh air without draughts as possible.

Linnets have a very sweet song of their own and will readily learn other notes.

The greenfinch is a hardy, tame bird ; he is seldom troubled with any disease and will live many years in captivity.

All the birds in the finch group eat the same food and require similar attention.

The blackbird is delicate when caged and must have plenty of nutritious food, bread and milk, boiled vegetables, ripe fruit, insects, and snails. He is a thirsty bird and needs plenty of water.

The thrush makes a delightful pet and will live many years if he has a large cage and if great attention is paid to cleanliness. He will eat almost anything, but best likes insects, berries, and fruit.

It is better for larks to be singing and fluttering in the sky than to be cooped up in captivity. One feels that no other small bird so needs its freedom. All would probably rather be free than not, but for a goldfinch and a bullfinch the change from flitting from tree to tree in the hedgerow to flitting from perch to perch in a large cage is much less serious than for a lark the change from the open air to the narrow bounds of the extremely minute boxes in which they are usually kept. If a lark is given you, see that he has a roomy cage and that it has a piece of baize stretched tightly across about an inch below the roof to prevent him from hurting his head. Strew the floor with red coarse sand, powdered chalk and old mortar bruised, and keep a bit of turf in a saucer of water. The food and drinking-water should hang outside. The yoke of hard-boiled eggs chopped small and mixed with bread crumbs should be the chief food, but vary this diet with ants' eggs, meal-worms, German paste,